The Etruscanning system at the exhibition in PalaExpo (photo: Eva Pietroni)

This exhibition showed several precious objects belonging to the Regolini-Galassi grave goods, together with the Sarcophagus of the Spouses (from the Louvre), the sculpted group of Greppe S. Angelo, terracotta objects from the museums of Berlin, Copenhagen and the Vatican Museum, finds from the Pyrgi sanctuary and some of the most recent discoveries carried out in the urban area of Cerveteri, in the necropolis and in the surrounding territories. The exhibition showed the relationships that Etruscans had in the Mediterranean area through the history of Cerveteri, one of their most important cities. This exhibition was curated by F. Galulier, L. Haumesser, P. Santoro, V. Bellelli, A. Russo Tagliente and R. Cosentino.

The Etruscanning system in action (photo: Eva Pietroni)

The exhibition has been jointly organized by Louvre Lens and Palaexpo, thanks to the collaboration between the Département des antiquités grecques, étrusques et romaines of the Louvre, the Istituto di studi sulle civiltà italiche e del Mediterraneo antico of the CNR and the Soprintendenza per i beni archeologici dell’Etruria meridionale. It had already been hosted in the Louvre Lens from the 5th December 2013 till the 10th of March 2014.

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On April 4, 2013, the latest version of the Etruscanning 3D application was inaugurated in the Museo Gregoriano Etrusco in the Vatican Museums. The installation consists of a non-interactive film that is displayed in Room 2 where the Regolini-Galasssi objects are displayed, and an interactive 3D application with a natural interaction interface in Room 16. On multiple screens within the Vatican Museums, an introduction film to the application was shown.

Part of the Etruscanning team at the entrance of the Vatican Museums in front of the Etruscanning promo film (from left to right: Wim Hupperetz, René van Beek, Daniel Pletinckx, Christie Ray, Judith Vos, photo: Veerle Delange)

Many people attended the project presentation at the press conference room of the Vatican (photo: Daniel Pletinckx)

Salvatore Garraffo, director of CNR-ITABC, introduced the technology used in the project, while Eva Pietroni (CNR-ITABC) and Daniel Pletinckx (Visual Dimension bvba) explained the natural interaction interface, the digitisation of the museum objects and their digital restoration. Rita Cosentino (Soprintendenza all’Etruria Meridionale) and Vincenzo Bellelli (CNR-ISMA) provided a wider context for the Regolini-Galassi tomb and its objects.

Introduction film to the virtual reconstruction of the Regolini-Galassi tomb in its museum room (photo: Daniel Pletinckx)

After the presentations, the installation was inaugurated. In Room 2, where all objects of the Regolini-Galassi tomb are on display, a large screen shows the virtual reconstruction of the tomb with the digitally restored objects integrated in the tomb. In this way, the objects are shown in their original context in their original state, providing the visitors with an even better appreciation and understanding of the objects. The film invites the visitors also to use the interactive application, which is located in nearby room (room 16), due to the lack of sufficient space in the Regolini-Galassi room.

In the interactive application, the visitor navigates through the tomb and selects objects and their related stories through simple, natural gestures (such as right arm forward for moving forward) detected by a Kinect camera. When starting, the visitor can select a language (Italian, English, Dutch) and can practice the navigation and object selection when approaching the virtual tomb. Once inside, the visitor can explore the entrance, antechamber, cella, left and right niche of the tomb with all its objects in place, select specific objects and listen to the stories connected to the objects. This video shows how it works in English or Italian.

This blog is part of the Etruscanning 3D project, that is being partially funded with support from the European Commission. This blog reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Hi, this blog is created to support the virtual reconstruction of the Etruscan Regolini-Galassi tomb. This virtual reconstruction brings together the objects which are preserved in the Vatican museum (Museo Gregoriano Etrusco), the actual tomb in Cerveteri (close to Rome) and the reports and interpretations of this extraordinary tomb that was excavated in 1836. The results of this virtual reconstruction will be used in exhibitions in Amsterdam and Leiden, Netherlands (October 13, 2011) and in the Gallo-Roman museum in Tongeren, Belgium in September 2012

Interior of the Regolini-Galassi tomb – Grifi 1836

This blog is part of the Etruscanning project, that is been funded with support from the European Commission. This blog reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.